Mubarak's Woes: A Lesson for Looters

Rev. Fr. Leonard O. Anetekhai

I prefer to die as a martyr rather than quit as a leader”. No doubt, it is only a dictator, who will utter such words in the face of crisis, even when the nation he is leading is crumbling. This is a clear manifestation of greed. Come to think of it, the happenings around the Arab world suggest that they are just waking up from a deep catnap. Before now, they have watched the resources and wealth of their countries being handed out to foreign corporations and squandered by their corrupt leaders. They have watched as these same brood of vipers who call themselves leaders, supported the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. They have watched as Israel has oppressed the Palestinians with the help of their governments, they have watched as Lebanon was attacked in 2006 with the tacit blessing of their regimes, they have watched as the Gaza Strip was re-invaded in 2008 by the Israeli military, and they have watched as the Egyptian regime has helped Israel starve Gaza.
However, some persons believe that the Arab World is not just waking up, but they have been watching in anger and frustration, and now like the immune system of a body, are combating the diseases that have contaminated their World , the siphoning of local wealth and resources by the ruling class on behalf of their neo-colonial masters the so called developed countries.
The revolution that began in Egypt on January 25, 2011, which was characterized by a series of street demonstrations, marches, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, labour strikes and violent clashes, did not just begin on that day, though the date was selected to coincide with the National Police Day. In the minds of numerous Egyptians, it was time for CHANGE. All they needed was the resignation of the President Hosni Mubarak, an end to corruption and police repression, and democratic reforms of the country's political system.
The cry for an end to corruption and the birth of a functioning democratic reform in the structure of governance has spread like wildfire, and one cannot deny the fact that citizens from other neighbouring countries will buy the ideal and fight for their own rights to reclaim the dignity and respect of their nation just like Arab people. It is time that even the West and the United States in particular have to learn to deal with the Arab people with the same level of respect they deal with their own people, because one cannot preach respect which is the very essence of 'diversity, pluralism and universal values' if one walks on the wrong part to peace.
Mubarak, never thought that all the glories of being in-charge will one day come to a close. The control of various institutions both political and social and even the means of the general population's livelihoods for thirty years is now a thing of the past. Our Nigerian politicians may laugh at the woes of Mubarak, but the lesson is NO CONDITION IS PERMANENT.
If we place the Egyptian revolution that is - as being peaceful and purposeful peaceful in the sense that the number of deaths was very minimal, considering the number of people who were involved in the march for change - side by side with the series of crisis around Nigeria, it will not be out of place to say we are heartless and even sometimes inhuman in the way we treat our fellow brothers and sisters. It is shameful that in less than a week 200 to 300 people (recorded figures) are killed in a mere riot. What happens at the other end? I am proud that as Africans we can stand and ask for our right. Those who kill in Nigeria do so not in the name of Islam, but in the name of whoever sent them.
Those who continue to make our educational system miserable and send their children abroad are the killers. Now, it is time for elections and their children are away, who will rig for them? Who will steal ballot boxes for them? Certainly those who make themselves available; a dictator can no longer suppress, a determined people for a long time in the present-day world as it was before. What other African especially Nigerian leaders should know is that, it is imperative with happenings around the Arab world for leaders not to overstay their tolerance in office and to determine the mood of the people they govern and respect their wishes and legitimate aspirations.
Mubarak's woes can happen anywhere, anytime, even if it takes time to materialise. For many politicians and even the federal government, the Egyptian type revolution is impossible in Nigerian. Yes, it is impossible, because Nigerians now worship looters and criminals like gods, majority are easily brainwashed, they fear the authority like GOD. According to Fela of blessed memory, Nigerians fear what they see and what they don't see. It is painful that Nigerian leaders are exploiting the same aspect of our country that the British exploited; we are slaves even in our own land - with hunger, poverty and disease taking their turns in the face of plenty.
Nobody ever thought that Egypt and other nations will rise to challenge of change. Nigerians are not cowards. We have our rights. Our present set of leaders should not think they have instilled fear into the Nigerian people with their show of looted wealth. For a revolution to materialize, the people do not necessarily have to be brave. They only have to be agitated enough against a few individuals. The lesson we learn from this should make us wise and not foolish and obstinate. As lead citizens in Nigerian, we must realize that, the dreams of Martin Luther king Jr did not come in a flash, but today, the blacks in America can vote and be voted for. Their rights stand when they fight for it. Democracy is our right for it is the “rule of the lead” and not of the leaders. So, lets enjoy its dividends.